


Defected

by MicahBoi



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, Mention of sexual harrassment
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-01
Updated: 2018-05-15
Packaged: 2019-04-30 15:45:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14500287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MicahBoi/pseuds/MicahBoi
Summary: Pearls are made-to-order servants; created to carry out their owners' wishes without talking back. But 17PK doesn't fit the mold. She's chatty and emotional; this has the potential to get her into a lot of trouble.





	1. Defective

Black Pearl was perched in her chair, chewing nervously on one midnight-black fingernail. Onyx nudged her sharply. “Sit properly, Pearl,” she hissed quietly. “We discussed this. If you cannot behave properly, I will have to send you outside.”

Black Pearl unfolded her long legs, setting her feet on the floor and her hands on her lap. She was still and silent for a moment before one foot began tapping out a nervous rhythm on the blue-tiled floor.

“Pearl…,” Onyx murmured warningly.

“I apologize,” Black Pearl whimpered softly, stilling her leg.

“Onyx, can you not even control your Pearl?” Celestite asked icily from across the table. The pale blue gem sat erect, hands folded on the table, glaring across at Onyx and Black Pearl.

Black Pearl flinched. Onyx was silent for a moment before coming to her Pearl’s defense. “She’s nervous. I see no reason to punish her for that.”

“Right,” Celestite scoffed. She waved for her Pearl; a pale, scrawny thing with a colour scheme to match her owner. The Pearl hurried over and stood behind Celestite’s chair, head bowed so that her snow-white hair obscured her face. Celestite gestured to her. “ _This_ is how a Pearl should behave.”

Black Pearl winced again, eyes on her hands.

“They’re made-to-order servants. If one doesn’t behave, it’s because it’s defective.”

Black Pearl gritted her teeth, looking up to lock eyes with Celestite. “At least I _like_ Onyx! I doubt your Pearl could say the same of you.”

Celestite drew herself up, affronted, and then the back of Onyx’s hand connected hard with Black Pearl’s cheek.

“ _Out. Now._ ” Onyx’s words were spoken with a force that hurt more than the slap.

Black Pearl scrambled to her feet, blinking back tears as she turned her eyes to the gem who owned her. Onyx’s glare was ice cold. “You are to wait outside until this meeting is over. I will retrieve you then, and then we need to have a _conversation_ about your behavior.”

Black Pearl’s shoulders drooped, and she struggled to maintain some dignity as she walked to the door. She stepped outside and dropped to the floor, drawing her knees up to her chest as her entire body shuddered with sobs. She stayed like that for a long while until her tears had petered out, at which point she simply stared blindly at the wall opposite her. 

_How could I have been so stupid?_ she thought. _Now Onyx is mad at me and she’s gonna replace me and oh stars this couldn’t possibly have gone any worse…._

The thought of Onyx being upset enough to replace her brought a fresh wave of tears to Black Pearl’s eyes, and she buried her face between her knees and began sobbing again. She didn’t know how long she cried, but suddenly she heard the door open. She hastily scrambled to her feet, wiping the tears from her cheeks and ready for whatever Onyx had to say. Standing before her, though, was a pale blue gem. Celestite’s Pearl.

“Are you alright?” The blue Pearl’s voice was soft, full of genuine concern. Black Pearl started to nod, then shook her head. 

“Onyx is really upset with me. I’ve never seen her so angry.”

Celestite’s Pearl nodded sympathetically. “It is considered rude to speak out like that. Oh, but where are my manners? I am Pearl Facet 9 Cut 6PS.” She held out a hand cordially.

Black Pearl took her hand and shook it. “Facet 9 Cut 17PK.”

“May I call you Kay?”

“Only if I get to call you Sky.”

Sky smiled softly. “Alright.”

Kay sat down, patting the floor next to her to invite Sky to sit as well. After a moment, Sky sat down, tucking her legs delicately under her.

“I shouldn’t have yelled at Celestite.”

“No, you really shouldn’t have,” Sky agreed. 

Kay sighed. “Do you like her?”

“I was made to serve her.”

“But do you _like_ her?”

Sky hesitated. “That….that is not for me to say.”

“So you don’t.”

Sky was silent, avoiding Kay’s eyes. Kay studied her expression; the way she seemed to have shrunk into herself when Celestite was brought up.

“Does she ever….hurt you?”

Sky was silent, but the answer was clear in the way she closed her eyes, eyebrows knitting together as she ran her left hand up and down her right arm.

The door opened again, and both Pearls hastily scrambled to their feet and faced their owners.

“Come on, Pearl,” Celestite snapped. Sky hurried to her owner’s side. As Celestite started off down the corridor, Sky turned to offer Kay a soft smile before following. 

Once Celestite and Sky were gone, Onyx sighed. “Pearl, I did not want to have to yell at you. We’ve discussed this already, though; when we’re around other gems you really need to behave. Perhaps my lenience in private situations is to blame for your disrespect.”

“No, it’s just….I couldn’t let her talk to you like that. Couldn’t let her talk about me and Sky like that.”

“Sky?”

“The other Pearl. Facet 9 Cut 6PS.”

“I see.”

Onyx set off, heading the opposite direction from the way Celestite had gone. Kay followed her in silence for a few minutes.

“I think Celestite abuses Sky.”

Onyx halted, sighing. “There is nothing that can be done about that.”

“But….but it’s wrong!”

“Pearl….”

“Sky is just as importa--”

“Pearl!”

Kay fell silent again.

“Pearl, there is a caste system in our society. It’s integral to Homeworld’s functionality. Pearls are….disposable. Like Quartzes and Rubies. A Celestite, though….she ranks much higher. Something like mistreating a low-class gem would never be enough to bring up against her. Especially a Pearl.”

“But--”

“Pearl, listen to me. It may not seem fair, I know. But that Pearl belongs to Celestite. Celestite is allowed to do as she pleases with her. It sounds cruel and unfair, but that is simply how our society works.”

Kay was silent for a long moment, seething with rage at the thought that Onyx could -- or would -- do nothing to help Sky. Finally, she nodded slowly. _What choice do I have?_ she thought. _It’s like Onyx said. Pearls are disposable. The bottom of the caste system._

_There’s nothing I can do._


	2. A Shoulder To Cry On

“I’m going to try to get some work done. Unfortunately, all of this work is classified -- are you going to be alright, Pearl?”  
Kay nodded as she left Onyx’s quarters. “You know how to reach me.”  
Kay wandered down a corridor, not quite sure where she was headed. She turned one corner, then a second and a third, and found herself outside a conference hall. It took a moment to orient herself, but she quickly recognized it as the hall where Onyx had had her meeting with Celestite only a few days prior. A shudder passed through Kay’s form at the memory; in the two thousand years since her creation, she had never felt worse than when she was afraid Onyx might replace her.  
She tore herself away from the room and continued to wander down the hall, aimlessly weaving across the space. Suddenly, she halted. She’d heard a sound, a tiny sniffle, like someone was crying. She turned around. No one was behind her.  
“Hello?” she called down the corridor, more than a little confused. Silence answered her. She turned around and began slowly walking back the way she’d come. She heard the sound again, and this time was able to trace it to a narrow crevice in the wall. She peered inside and found Sky, crouched against the back wall, eyes wide and hands over her mouth.  
“Sky?”  
Sky didn’t answer; she sat silently, chest heaving with sobs as tears rolled down her face.  
Kay slipped into the crevice and knelt in front of Sky. “Sky, what happened? Are you okay?”  
Sky shivered violently, coming out of the trancelike state she was in to lock eyes with Kay. “Don’t tell Celestite,” she mumbled quickly.  
“What happened?” Kay repeated softly, growing more and more concerned. Had Sky done something bad?  
Sky hugged her knees to her chest, shaking her head. “Celestite....she....” She trailed off, tears welling in her eyes again.  
“Did she hurt you?” Kay asked, dropping her voice to a barely audible whisper.  
Sky hesitated for a long moment before slowly nodding. “Yes. Well, not exactly, but....sort of?”  
Kay scooted closer to Sky, wrapping an arm around the pale Pearl’s shoulders. “Do you want to talk to me?”  
Sky drew in a shaky breath. “I....I don’t know. She hasn’t....she hasn’t done _that_ before.”  
“Done what?”  
“She....er....touched me? But it wasn’t in a violent way. Not at first, anyway. At the same time, though, it wasn’t in a....kind....way. Like....like when you touch me. It’s just an expression of our friendship. But it wasn’t like that with Celestite. It was terrifying. And she touched me in places that I didn’t want her to.” Sky’s voice cracked, and she struggled to speak through the tears that were rolling down her face again. “It was terrifying. Violating.” Her entire body shuddered. “She touched my gem. I have never felt so violated in my life. It’s just that....I feel like that was too intimate of a touch, considering her relationship with me is solely that of a high-ranking gem to her servant.”  
Kay remained silent, trying to process what Sky was saying. "Are you alright?"  
"I don't know."  
"What can I do?"  
"Just....stay here?" The way Sky's voice cracked, her body language, everything about her made it clear that she fully expected Kay to abandon her.  
Kay held her closer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry this was such a short chapter. I'm working on the next one now, and maybe I'll have more time to work on this story once I get through finals for this quarter. Gonna have to cross that bridge when I get to it though, haha! Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! The next one's gonna be a bit intense; I'm gonna have to go back and edit the overall archive warnings.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys; thanks for reading the first chapter of Defected! I'm on a veeeeeery tentative schedule of trying to post every other Tuesday; we'll see how that actually ends up playing out with my schoolwork load.


End file.
